PART 4 – Cost of our van build 💰

The van is almost where we want it so it’s time that we look back at how much we spent on building it. Below you’ll find a very small breakdown of each cost. We’ve tallied all of our receipts and here it is:

Without getting too much in the nitty gritty $$$ details, here’s where most of the things came from:

Solar Panel & battery pack prices are NOT included in this price as we already own them prior to getting the van.

Not having built anything such as this before, I think this is a good number, wouldn’t you think? It could have been done cheaper but I’ve redone a few things over since using the van, as we came up with better ways to utilize it and added ‘nice to haves’ items.

The van was brand spanking new. It cost us $27,000. We went with brand new vs older to avoid some mechanical issues and wanted a reliable car right away that wasn’t rusty! (Thanks Wisconsin’s winters!!) I know a lot of people buy their vans used and loved it. As we’re not mechanics, we wanted to peace of mind. We’re planning on replacing the engine in about 10years to make it last even longer.

I’ve enjoyed following the build out of your van. What are you using for a solar panel and battery set up? I’m thinking about something to use while car camping or camping at a crag. Charge devices and power LED strips mostly.

Woot! We haven’t done much with solar yet. We only have a 100watt panel and a 400wh Portable power supply that has a 12v & USB outlets to it. We’re still testing and playing around. That setup powers enough juice to get Bryan’s computer, monitor, keyboard and gadgets going while he’s working but that’s about it. We’d need to double/triple/quadruple that if we wanted to live off of it. We’ll write a post once we figure it out.

Check out the Goal Zero Yeti 150 or 400, that may be plenty for what you need it for. (Or check out alternatives that are cheaper… brand names are always a bit more $$$)